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Liara would be lying if she said that she does not use her Shadow Broker contacts to spy on her friends.
She lovingly calls it, keeping an eye on them. Making sure they aren’t getting into trouble that might actually put them in a tough spot. It isn’t really her fault if the information she comes across happens to be personal messages and tracking recent transactions, she has the previous Shadow Brokers to thank for that. The doctor is merely following up on readily available data.
The personal messages had been brought to her attention. They bring a slight blush to her cheeks when she skims through them. Innocuous communication from Garrus as he attempts to reach out to the commander, they are professional and polished. Though there is a certain softness to them that she reads only because of her acquaintance with the turian. But he is met with Shepard’s radio silence every time. The messages meet a dead end, and an automated message gets sent back to him instantaneously. Telling him that the channel he is trying to reach no longer exists.
But he keeps on trying. Ever the stubborn creature.
The asari sometimes ponders the thought of saying something to him. To inform him that Shepard is stuck, grounded on earth, stripped of her title and rank. With no way to contact anyone outside of the four walls of her room. But the right time never comes. And telling Garrus that she’s been reading his correspondence would only look bad on her.
So she lets them wait, knowing time would eventually bring them back together. Or at least hoped so.
But it is regret that she feels when she sees the way Shepard radiates the moment Garrus comes into view on Menae. Alive and kicking, just like the commander hoped he would be. Maybe if Liara said something the reunion would be less of a relief off their back, and more a romantic reconciliation.
They cannot keep their eyes off of each other on the shuttle back. But to Liara’s surprise they stand on opposite sides. Maybe it is easier to look at each other that way. Maybe they need to discuss the past six months before initiating anything. She makes up her own theories in her head, like a good researcher always does.
Their names get passed around like it’s nothing new, but she can hear it. The hint of familiarity, and the eagerness to keep them on their lips. So much so that Liara almost feels embarrassed to be in the same room, as if intruding in their private conversation.
When they make it to the Normandy, Garrus takes Shepard’s hand. Just a brief moment, as he steps out of the shuttle and turns back to wait for Shepard to exit the vehicle. He provides his talon for her to hold onto, to assist her as she walks out. She accepts it as she steps over the divide between the ship and the shuttle. She thanks him, he nods his pleasure. And they let go, walking with a normal distance between them. Strangers once again as they split up to go whenever they both need to go.
Liara doesn’t bring it up until she catches Garrus in the elevator on the way to the captain’s cabin in nothing but his civvies and a yawn.
Joker is certain about one thing about Garrus Vakarian. That he would drop anything for Commander Shepard. His job, his title, his life. Anything she asks of him, he would do in a heartbeat.
And so, he wasn’t entirely surprised when Garrus came to the cockpit one day, talon in his fringe as he nervously asked for human dating advice. He claimed that it would be less embarrassing to come to another human friend, than to have a questionable extranet history that EDI can go through and potentially bring up in an awkward conversation.
Joker laughed in his face. Reminding him that EDI will still listen to their conversation and keep it on file. How could he not laugh at the sight of a turian fiddling his fingers over a human girl. To Garrus’ defence, said girl did happen to be one of the most prolific women in the galaxy.
But after a pat on the back and some reassurance, the pilot pulled out every resource he had. He wanted the best for them after all, thinking that they’d make a good pair. Happy that the commander could still make time for her own desires on their death trap of a mission.
The vids he provided came in a variety of genres. Classic human rom-coms were on top of the list. One or two alliance videos on alien-human relations that might have helped the sniper understand human facial expressions and body language. And pornography. A whole lot of human-turian pornography.
Not that Joker just had that on hand or anything.
Garrus came back with notes. He watched the pornography first. Revels in the thought that many have attempted human-turian intercourse before him, knowing that this indeed will be possible and the awkwardness will be at a minimum as long as he did his homework.
And after the suicide mission, Garrus was constantly seen coming in and out of the commander’s room. Professing it to be hands-on practice of human-turian relations.
When they pick Garrus up from Menae, Joker is more than happy to see another familiar face, even under the circumstances that have befallen them all. It gives him some peace of mind knowing that Shepard has a team that has her back, the way she always has the pilot’s. Even more so when it’s Garrus Vakarian, the only turian in the galaxy that can leave bite marks peeking out of the commander’s uniform and not get called out for it.
Well, Joker calls him out on it. He thinks it would almost be rude not to.
There are many perks to being in a romantic relationship with the ship, namely being able to spy on friends from the comforts of his cockpit. Reports of Liara falling asleep standing up, James relentlessly flirting with the commander once again, and Trayor using up all the warm water just add a smidge of whimsy to his day. Innocent musings of his fellow crewmates. But the addition of Garrus only brings a grin to his face.
He catches EDI softly exclaiming out of the blue, as if something has tickled her fancy. But when questioned upon it, she hesitates in answering, going through thousands of pages on the extranet to try and find out if talking about what she has just witnessed would be considered rude or not.
Joker claims he won’t tell anyone. But even EDI doesn’t believe him.
Instead she asks what Joker believes love to be. Why the emotion can be so complicated and convoluted in the eyes of many organics. What the weight of words and actions are in a romantic relationship. The question is far from what Joker thinks he is getting, the thought of two crew members thinking they can get away with a quick make out session in the closet erases from his mind.
He presses again, asking her what she has just seen. But EDI only shakes her head, thinking that she should keep this morsel of information private. Just for Shepard and Garrus to enjoy together.
Her head tilts slightly as she chooses her words.
She tells him that she thinks Shepard harbours deep feelings for Garrus. And that Garrus feels the same for her.
Joker laughs in his ever growing curiosity. He could have told her that.
Kaidan only wants the best for commander Shepard. He holds too much respect for her to think she deserves any less.
His anger for her on Horizon must have stemmed out of his respect, at least that’s what he has discussed with his therapist.
And so now he has returned to the Normandy. Or rather a Theseus ship type of situation of a Normandy, but he likes it all the same. The observation deck is a nice touch, his thoughts get lost between the stars and he finds himself there again and again. But what he truly missed was the camaraderie of the Normandy. A touch not many captains are capable of, and something Shepard excels in.
The food is never amazing, but it’s edible without needing to wash it down with a glass of water. Still, Kaidan looks forward to it, as crew come in and out of the quarter’s to take their meals together with whoever else has time to step away from their work. Conversations are always abound, and even if he doesn’t feel like speaking, it’s nice to know that others can fill the void of silent space.
It is not often that Shepard comes down for meals. It isn’t that she doesn’t want to join her crew, a mass gathering would probably even help cut some time in her daily check-ins with everyone. Instead, she often just forgets to eat. Between the calls and the reports and the messages, food is often the last thing on her mind.
But today she is in the kitchen, placing food onto her tray. With a turian hanging beside her, watching and nodding as she continues to pile up her plate.
She says something in a huff, Garrus chuckles as he moves closer. Telling her something about having done enough research to know that she isn’t eating enough for a human of her size and with her physical activity.
Shepard makes a joke about physical activity.
Kaidan pretends not to hear the rest of their conversation.
But the major can’t help but look. As Garrus’ hand slowly finds its way around the commander’s waist. His face moving into her personal space. Shepard ever so slowly leaning her weight against him. She smiles as she finds reassurance in his eyes.
Then he whispers something against her ear. And Kaidan can hear her roll her eyes all the way from the dining table.
She drags Garrus’ last name with feigned disapproval. His mandibles trill with satisfaction.
Kaidan is mostly surprised that they’re not hiding it more. Mostly due to both of their natures, military oriented creatures that want to disrupt crew dynamics as little as possible. Especially in times like these.
But then he thinks that maybe these times are the very reason they’re so open. Hands against each other’s skin, even if they only linger for no more than a few beats. They both know that death is only around the corner. The entire crew knows. And maybe seeing their commanding officer relax her shoulders and have a private life outside of the war can have a calming effect on the crew. Give them a little hope, a semblance of normalcy.
Garrus is good for her, the major thinks. Someone loyal to a fault. Someone to catch her if she ever falls. Someone to love her with every inch of his body and nothing less. He might even be the best choice for her in the galaxy. Someone to balance out her good and remind her to let loose once in a while.
Not that Garrus himself knows how to let go, Kaidan knows that the man is one therapy trip away from breaking down.
Tali is lucky enough to call both Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian her friends.
Best friend might not even be far from the truth. She’d wear it as a badge of honour if either would claim the title. Trust them with her life, and wants more than anything to be able to take off her suit to truly be herself in front of them. It is a dream she hopes to fulfil by the end of this all.
When she boards the Normandy, she finds herself at home. A ship she knows like the back of her hand, and one that welcomes her with open arms. It is her namesake now, even if it was forced upon her, she wears the title with pride.
She officially cements herself in the ship once her homeworld is secure, a debt she knows she can never repay Shepard. Without the commander’s help, she does not know if the quarians and the geth would ever find peace. Her house renovation plans are placed on hold as she finds an empty pod for herself.
Liara is back on the ship, as is Kaidan. A few new faces and some new sounds from the engine, but her fingers graze the metal as smoothly as it always does. Garrus is the first person she finds, as Shepard is still running around talking to important figures, and calling admirals and councillors on the coms.
He looks the way they all do, a little dejected but still hopeful that the war is coming to a close. It’s always nice to know that someone else on the ship follows her food and drink requirements, though with a few less filters. She asks him where he sleeps, that she can’t wait for the reapers to die so that she can finally sleep in a bed instead of a pod.
It isn’t really a surprise when Garrus offhandedly mentions how he sleeps on the top floor. In the arms of their commanding officer.
Fraternization, she jokes. But she was there when he was nervous about getting together with Shepard the first time around, he paced back and forth as he worried endlessly about the possibility of messing it up. He always hoped that one day he could do more than just see her in her room, but their lives were never promised and he did not mind if that was all he was given. Tali told him that she personally would be angry if he did mess anything up with Shepard, she deserved the world and they both knew it.
She’s glad it has been working out for them.
Garrus talks about her endlessly. Tali thinks he doesn’t realise it, the way he manages to fit the human into every other conversation. It’s cute, watching him wonder about Shepard. And the quarian doesn’t mind, gives her information to pass along to the commander every time she visits Tali down in engineering.
But it’s rare for her to find them both in the same place at the same time. Unless it’s out on a mission with weapons strapped to their hands and reapers they all need to kill. Today seems to be her lucky day, bumping into them in the med bay.
She’s told that it’s just a few deep scratches that Shepard obtained on their last mission, nothing a little medi-gel and Dr. Chakwas can’t fix. But Garrus doesn’t like it either way, finds the sight of Shepard on a medical bed a little too real.
He stands talls, but his talon is in her hand as she pretends her injuries don’t hurt as much as they actually do. Tali watches as Garrus rubs his thumb against the back of Shepard’s hand, circles of relaxation that might be helping him more than her.
The commander assures the quarian that everything is alright, ‘tis but a scratch that will heal before their next mission. But sounds coming out of Garrus only compute disapproval. It isn’t really just a scratch from what Tali can see, the wound looks deep and vile against the white lights.
Tali tells Garrus to keep Shepard in her cabin, and make sure she doesn’t leave the bed until she is fully healed. The turian agrees even when commander Shepard begins to voice her complaints.
When the quarian returns to the med-bay later in the evening, she sees that the pair never make it to the cabin. Shepard gets a little too drunk on the medi-gel and must have fallen asleep, and Garrus is too attached to leave her side even when there’s a doctor around to keep an eye on her and an AI that won’t let anything happen to the commander. His crest lay on the small available space of cushioning by her hip, and their hands never part.
Tali takes a picture and reminds herself to send a copy to her best friends.
James is the last person on the ship to notice.
His eyes going wide as he blatantly stares at his commanding officer leave little room between her and the only turian on their team. Both with one hand clasping tight onto the ceiling’s handrail, bodies as close as social etiquette will allow them in broad daylight. Garrus’ free arm gently wraps around Shepard’s waist, holding her steady as the shuttle continues to rattle them every few seconds.
Their conversations often consist of jabs and winks from the commander’s end, and awkward dragged out syllables from Garrus whenever he gets a little too flustered. Innuendoes and inside jokes that others might not catch, or even if they are being obvious they do not ever seem to care of an outsider's opinions. As if their words will be theirs and theirs alone, no matter who is around to watch.
Garrus says something that makes the commander laugh, a real laugh. Somewhat of a chuckle or a giggle, but James isn’t sure if those words would be appropriate to use to describe his commander. They seem too lax and immature, but he finds himself here, sitting in the designated seat of the drop shuttle watching his commander and a turian making googly eyes at each other.
He wasn’t aware that someone warmed Shepard’s bed at night, let alone it being Garrus Vakarian. Turians do run hot, if his classes on alien species serve him right.
James knows that they have known each other for longer than he has known the commander. She never mentioned him back on earth, but his introduction on Menae told him that Shepard respected the man, and thus so he should too.
He slips into the cockpit, lowering his voice enough to mumble a question to Cortez. Only for him to be laughed at, with the pilot claiming that he had been wondering when James would catch on. They make it to the Normandy in silence, while James continues to muse over the new information.
When they depart, he watches as Garrus helps unload her weapons. Clipping them off of her back and setting them down on the table before even touching his own armour. They move in tandem, a well oiled machine that seems to have done this a thousand times. She doesn’t even fuss over it, tell him it’s unnecessary or that she can do it herself. Instead she allows him to help her, fully aware that she is more than capable of it herself if she wanted to. She thanks him as the last piece is removed off of her and they begin to put away his gear.
James gives them their space, not wanting to butt in between them just to take off his armour. Waiting at the mouth of the shuttle, with the sound of Cortez shuffling behind him making sure everything is in check.
Before they leave, James hears Shepard asking Garrus to help her out of her amour. And Scars makes a noise that isn’t remotely human, his mandibles flare at the idea. He almost runs to the elevator and impatiently presses on the button over and over to take them up to the captain’s cabin.
Vega accumulates an extensive extranet search history on cross species romantic relations that very night.